First Prize in Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2022 (University Category)

Team members from left: Michael Santoso and Christopher Angelo at the prize presentation held on 13 Jun 2023.

SCSE students Christopher Angelo (CSC*, Year 2) and Michael Santoso (CSEC*, Year 2) have won the University category of Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow Competition 2022. The competition was held over a couple of months from Nov 2022 to May 2023.

Solve for Tomorrow 2022 competition by Samsung Electronics is designed to empower the capabilities of youths, ignite the passion to make a positive social impact in the next generation of leaders in Singapore and provide them with the opportunity to address salient societal issues through innovative, technological ideas. This would require the participants to apply skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving capabilities and Science, Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) knowledge to innovate solutions that will create a better world for all.

The team came up with an AI and AR-powered communication aid device for hard-of-hearing individuals. The two-part solution enables hard-of-hearing individuals to communicate using a pair of AR glasses that can transcribe speech in real-time, and a mobile app that allows users to turn type-written speech into spoken words.

Their idea stemmed from Christopher’s experience with his grandfather who has hearing loss. Wanting to let him “hear” through visual means, the team hopes the innovation can bridge the communication gap and improve the quality of life for hard-of-hearing individuals.

The team are extremely grateful and deeply honoured to be able to express their ideas in the competition and attain the first place award. This will undoubtedly inspire them to continue pushing the boundaries and strive for even greater accomplishments in the future.

They would also like to express their heartfelt appreciation to Samsung, the judges, organisers, and all those who have supported them throughout this incredible journey. The exceptional education they received from the professors at SCSE NTU had played a pivotal role in equipping the team with the necessary skills and knowledge to excel in this competition. The computer science modules have equipped them with the technical skills necessary to effectively implement their solution, such as the data science and artificial intelligence (DSAI) modules giving them a good fundamental to machine learning for their projects.

Link to the official award website:
https://www.samsung.com/sg/solvefortomorrow/ 

Channel 8 news feature:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gcO_gf56WkNUZw5Thxm_iswodBhydipg/view?usp=sharing

Note: 
*CSC: B.Eng in Computer Science  
*CSEC: Double Degree in Computer Science and Economics